So when I was last posting here (three years ago! I can't believe it's been that long!) I had just ordered a 6kg Gym Hammer as an upgrade from the 10lb sledgehammer I had been using & said I was going to let you all know whether it was any good, before getting distracted by life & disappearing from the forum entirely... My apologies for that!

So, three years late, here are my thoughts on Gym Hammers: Stay away from them.

Gym Hammers are all metal constructions, comprising a hammer head welded onto a length of tubular steel, part of the length of which has a diamond patterning for grip.

One thing you need to be aware of is a discrepancy in the way the weight is labeled - a 12lb sledgehammer has a head that weighs 12lb, but a 6kg Gym Hammer has an overall weight of 6kg. Moreover, the handle of a Gym Hammer is about 5 inches shorter than a regular sledgehammer handle. This combination throws the weight distribution off so that shugging a Gym Hammer is nothing like shugging an equivalently labeled sledgehammer...

I don't know how scientific this is, but in order to get an idea of the practical weight of my Gym Hammer, I placed the head of the hammer on my bathroom scales whilst resting the end of the handle on the floor (I figured this would take into account not only the weight distribution, but also the length of the handle), then did the same for my 10lb sledgehammer & compared the figures. I don't recall the actual numbers for each, but I do remember that the Gym Hammer came out at almost exactly 1lb heavier than the sledgehammer. So, in practical terms, a 6kg (13.2lb) Gym Hammer is the rough equivalent of an 11lb sledgehammer...

Another point, albeit a minor one, is that the handle of the Gym Hammer is perfectly circular in cross section, which I found a little less comfortable & secure to grip than the shaped handle of a sledgehammer.

Finally, a Gym Hammer is a piece of exercise equipment, not a tool, & I definitely wouldn't be happy using it for actual hammering - I don't think it would stand up to such rough treatment.

Having said all that, my Gym Hammer did act as a convenient stepping stone between my 10lb-er & the 12lb-er I got after it, so in that respect it wasn't a total waste of money. But I was certainly glad to get back to using a proper sledgehammer & won't be bothering with Gym Hammers in the future.

Thank you! And it's great to be back. I still love Shovelglove - it's the only form of exercise I've ever been able to really get into. I'm so frustrated that I can't do it at the moment because of my broken hand & I can't wait to get back to it, although it'll be a while before I can... I hate to think how much progress I'm gonna lose because of this setback.